Above: Senior Christina Nelson fights her way around a Barnum Bomber to get to the hoop at the home game Right: Junior Brea Boomer struggles to maintain possession in the paint.
The Cook County girls’ basketball team took a dose of its own medicine on Friday night when the second-rated team in the state, the Barnum Bombers, outplayed them in every facet of the game. While the 21-4 Vikings are used to being on the other side of the scoreboard, the 24-2 Bombers showed they are one of the elite teams, if not the best team, in the state of Minnesota.
After a lot of build-up before the game, which included pre-game player introductions “under the lights” with spotlights, the Bombers quickly destroyed any thoughts of a rivalry. Barnum’s full court press overwhelmed the Vikings into many turnovers that are not characteristic of Cook County’s guards.
The Vikings were further limited, as their leading rebounder, Essa Jacobsen, was not in the game because of a knee injury suffered earlier in the week. Jacobsen was noticeably missed, as the Vikings had a tough time keeping the more aggressive Bombers off the glass. Numerous offensive rebounds led to Bomber baskets as Barnum took a dominating 16-45 lead into halftime.
In addition, the Bombers were attacking the basket on offense which led to numerous Cook County fouls. The Vikings were in foul trouble most of the game as Barnum was having its way with Cook County’s man-to-man defense.
Barnum star and University of Minnesota-Duluth signee, Katrina Newman, led all scorers at the half with 16 points. Her sister, Jessica Newman, added 10 points, as the duo outscored the Vikings by 10 at the break. Senior Christina Nelson led the Vikings at halftime with six points.
In the second half, the Bombers’ press was softer to take more time off the clock and the Vikings were able to score more on offense. Barnum’s offense continued to execute, however, as the Vikings were outscored 28-40 in the final 18 minutes of play. Whenever the Vikings cut into the Barnum lead, the Bombers’ Sarah Myhre would make a key basket to extend Barnum’s lead.
The Vikings lost their first home game of the season, 44-85.
Ashley Deschampe led the Vikings with 13 points. Nelson added nine points, and sophomore Molly Zafft played well off the bench, scoring eight points for the Vikings.
Cook County finishes its season with an impressive 21-4 record. Theyare the #2 seed in the Section 7A playoffs. Their first playoff game is on Thursday, March 4 in Esko at 7:45 p.m. against the winner of the Wrenshall-Lakeview Christian match-up in the first round. If the Vikings win, they will next play on Saturday, March 6th at 6:00 p.m. in the Duluth Denfeld gymnasium. Look in next week’s edition for all the playoff scores and highlights.
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